


I Drag Behind

by coffeerepublic



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Ranger
Genre: F/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-26
Updated: 2013-10-26
Packaged: 2017-12-30 13:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1018997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeerepublic/pseuds/coffeerepublic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You possess every trait that I lack - by coincidence or by design."</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Drag Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Re-posted from my Luna account.
> 
> Original preface:
> 
> Hello, dear readers.
> 
> I'd been wanting to write something about Keith forever, especially ever since I beat the game for the third time a few weeks ago. But I was scared nobody would read it.
> 
> Kenny-chan posting a drabble booklet about him gave me back my inspiration and though she may not realize it, it encouraged me to write this.
> 
> The song used is 'Drag' by Placebo. Lovelovelove it.
> 
> Enjoy! And leave some feedback while you're at it! ;)

_You’re always ahead of the game._  
I drag behind.  
You never get caught in the rain  
When I’m drenched to the bone every time. 

You pulled your scarf tighter around your neck, trying to retain every last bit of warmth radiating from your body and failing. Your breath formed small, white clouds every time you exhaled; the cold was truly unbearable. What in the world could you have done wrong to deserve this?

Of course, fortunate as you had always been, you had been sent to the one place nobody ever really wanted to go: Camp Shiver. If you had known that the reward for graduating from the Ranger School was going to be this kind of torture, you would have reconsidered dropping out. You had already had to repeat the last year of education there, and considering the amount of time and effort you had summoned in order to finally pass your exams, this certainly seemed like some kind of horrible joke.

Even after several weeks of being stationed in this icy cold nightmare, you had not yet had the opportunity to buy clothes for yourself that were anywhere near appropriate for the local climate. Always sent out to do the missions nobody else wanted to accept, perpetually buried under new heaps of paperwork, you were beginning to hate the job you had chosen.

Your current situation didn’t do much to raise your spirits either. You were walking around Hia Valley in hopes of finding the Glaceon that had been reported missing by a rather hysterical old lady. Of course, your protests concerning the late hour and the upcoming snowstorm had fallen on deaf ears. You were the rookie, you would have to do the dirty work.

By now, the gray sky had faded to a blue so dark you could barely tell it wasn’t black. The starless night had drawn nearer slowly and quietly before it struck with full force, the wind picking up speed and the cold becoming even more dreadful. You could feel it invading your skin, slowing your movements, infiltrating your bones.

There was barely anything you wanted as much as to lie down and fall asleep, to just submit to the fatigue, to give up. But you weren’t stupid enough and, more importantly, you weren’t yet weary enough of life to risk freezing to death in this place.

As you were fighting to keep your eyes open, you were suddenly blinded by a bright light that ripped you from the apathy that had begun to take over your mind. You blinked over and over, first to get used to the light, then to get rid of the white spots that were dancing across your vision. The cone of light shifted from you to the snow-covered ground and with that, you were able to see that it came from a flashlight held by a guy standing a few feet from you. Another ranger.

“What are you doing out here at night, girl?” You couldn’t quite tell whether it was a delusion caused by your most likely impending death of cold, but his voice seemed almost familiar.

“Freezing to death,” was all you managed to stutter out through your chattering teeth. At least you were being honest.

“Whatever reason you got for being here right now, you at least should be wearing something else, not shorts, and -” It was only then he noticed the ranger uniform you were wearing. He raised an eyebrow before continuing as though he’d never ceased talking for a second. “- and that scarf is a lame excuse for a winter outfit.”

You definitely weren’t in the mood for this. Somewhere in the back of your head rang a voice that reminded you of the fact that you had a mission to complete. If there was one thing you weren’t going to do, it was stand around waiting for nature to turn you into a human ice sculpture while this impertinent fellow insulted you.

“You’re not helping.” But instead of sounding as aggressive as you had intended it to, your voice was weak.

He took a few steps towards you and the nearer he came, the more he could see how badly you were shaking. “Do you belong to the Camp Shiver Ranger Station?” His tone was softer now, almost caring.

Your muscles were painfully clenching from the trembling and your extremities were aching so badly you feared never being able to feel them again after this night.

“Y-Yes…” You were barely audible by now. And mere seconds later, your knees gave in and you collapsed. Eyes closing, you surrendered to the dark.

* * *

_You possess every trait that I lack  
By coincidence or by design._

* * *

You woke up to an indistinct mélange of voices reaching your ears. As the moments passed, it slowly became clearer. Your eyes opened and you blinked a few times, your vision falling into place and the realization that you were back in the Ranger Station in Camp Shiver dawning on you.

Through the open door of the small room you had been staying in for the past weeks you could hear people talking. You recognized that of Pamur. Pamur – he was the one coefficient about this whole situation that had been keeping you sane so far. If it weren’t for him, you might have long since committed suicide by drowning yourself in the Ice Lake.

And unless you were mistaken, there was only one other person he was talking to. No sooner had you finished that thought, said other person entered your chamber.

Once you saw the copper-haired adolescent, memories flooded your brain. You remembered the events that had occurred in the Hia Valley and also, more importantly, you realized something you hadn’t that night. Your senses hadn’t been fooling you; you did know the guy. The both of you had been classmates back at the Ranger School.

“Hey, Keith.” Your voice sounded hoarse and you felt just how dry your throat was.

He threw you a surprised look, stepping next to your bed.

“How come you know my name?” Surprise still evident in his tone, he leaned down towards you a little and you noticed the cup he was holding, his pose indicating that you were to take it. You sat up, stuffing your pillow behind your back to make yourself more comfortable, and did so.

Keith sat down on the edge of your bed and turned a little to be able to look at you. Taking a small sip of the hot chocolate he had offered you, you relished the taste for a moment before finally answering.  
“Don’t you recall? We went to school together.” Judging from the look on his face, no, he didn’t recall.

“Really..?” He seemed to think for a few moments. “I don’t remember you though. Sorry, [Name].” You concluded that Pamur had given him your name.

“That’s ‘cause you never pay attention to anything.” He was going to object, but you didn’t let him. “Either way, we never talked to each other anyways.”

A short silence arose. A minute or two later, he continued without changing the topic.

“But if you and I were in the same class, how come Pamur said you only just became a ranger?”

Although you didn’t feel comfortable answering his question, you eventually did.

“They didn’t let me graduate the first time ‘round.”

All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the conversation had changed from comfortable to awkward. He didn’t say anything for a while and you were surprised he didn’t ask about the reasons for your failure. Back in the school days, you had always perceived him as somebody loud and somewhat obnoxious. Nonetheless, he had always been someone you envied for his success.

Even aafter he had graduated, you hadn't had much of a choice but to follow his rise to glory; he had been dominating the headlines of every newspaper recently.

“So…” He paused. “You don’t need to worry about that Glaceon any longer. I found it and the lady’s happy again.” His attempt at changing the subject failed horribly. Instead of distracting you from your negative thoughts, he only encouraged them.

Not only had you failed your mission, but he had once again proven to you just how much better of a ranger he was than you would ever be. You struggled so hard and still failed while he didn’t even have to really try in order to reach his goals.

“How do you do it?” you asked.

“Do what?”

You hesitated before answering.

“How are you so good at everything? You’ve barely been a pokémon ranger for a year, and you’re already a top ranger. But not just that. You come ‘round here by coincidence and not only do you complete the mission I wasn’t able to finish with ease, but you also rescue me at the same time, like it’s not a big deal. None at all.”

A shiver ran down your spine when you realized that what you had just said was actually true. For a reason you weren’t able to define, it had always been like that, your whole life. No matter how hard you tried, you lagged behind.

When he tried to look into your eyes, you averted your gaze. You were feeling incredibly self-conscious all of a sudden.

“Hey,” he said softly. When you still didn’t show any reaction, his hand found the side of your face, his bare fingertips warm against your cold skin. He leaned towards you slightly, breathing in the scent of cocoa coming from the cup you were still holding. Your eyes finally met his.

“Don’t put yourself down so much.”

And his lips met yours.

_You’re always ahead of the rest_  
When I’m always on time.  
You got A’s on your algebra tests.  
I failed and they kept me behind.  
I just gotta get off my chest  
That I think you’re divine.  
You’re always ahead of the rest  
While I drag behind. 


End file.
